He wasn't being plagued by telephone solicitors or crank callers. The constant barrage came from colleagues and others who wondered why -- just two months after being named the state's Distinguished Principal of the Year by the Association of Washington School Principals -- Wright was leaving the district.

The popular educator, who was the first Seattle Public Schools principal to receive the award in its 19-year history, worked his last day at Thurgood Marshall yesterday. He'll soon become a regional superintendent in Philadelphia, overseeing seven inner-city elementary and middle schools.

"It's an opportunity to be on a larger playing field and see if what I say can work can really work," Wright said.

Wright has a challenging task ahead of him. Philadelphia's public schools were taken over by the state in 2001, a move prompted by low test scores, chronic teacher shortages and a $216 million budget deficit in the 210,000-student district. Wright will be working for New York-based Victory Schools, which manages public schools in several cities. Initially, Wright said, he didn't think he was interested in the job. But after learning that two of the schools he is overseeing are split by gender, a model Wright champions and has incorporated successfully at Thurgood Marshall, he reconsidered.

He sees his new position not just as a challenge but as a mission. "I really believe I have a moral obligation to change education. Otherwise I'd get out of this business and go into private business for myself," said Wright, a former state parole officer and high school basketball coach. "It's a calling for me. It's not really a job." (Editor's Note: Mr. Wright's former profession as a parole officer was misstated in the original version of this story.)

Shari Howard-Powell, a Thurgood Marshall teacher who has worked with Wright since he started at the school in 1999, said teachers wept at a staff meeting when the beloved principal announced he was leaving. She said Wright has radically transformed the school into a collaborative environment where teachers' input is valued and children's different learning styles are embraced.

"I'm going to miss him so much," she said. "He's been so supportive in demanding academic success from every child. He's so caring."

During his tenure at Thurgood Marshall, Wright added 20 minutes to each school day by enlisting community volunteers to work with students, formed an after-school writing program with the help of his wife, split the school into five academies to give students more individual attention in smaller classes and recruited mentors from local universities to work with his teachers.

Test scores at the school rose considerably under Wright's leadership. In 1997, for example, just 7 percent of the school's students met the standard for writing on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning test. Last year, 52 percent did.

"Ben's been an excellent principal," Seattle Public Schools spokeswoman Lynn Steinberg said. "He's made a huge difference at Thurgood Marshall."

Yesterday, Howard-Powell and her class of 7- and 8-year-old girls serenaded Wright in his office, singing the R. Kelly song "I Believe I Can Fly," one of the principal's favorites. Not all the children finished singing.

"Half of them didn't because they were so busy boo-hooing. They were saying, 'We love you so much, Mr. Wright. Thank you for believing in me,' " Howard-Powell said.

Bob Archey, who volunteers at the school with his wife in the after-school writing program, was equally disappointed about Wright's departure. "I hate to lose him," he said. "He's incredibly caring about kids' learning, and he's willing to take risks and do things differently to make that happen. I can't say enough about the guy."

Jocelyn McCabe, director of communications for the Association of Washington School Principals, said Seattle's loss is Philadelphia's gain. "(Wright's) determination to ensure that every child reached their potential was something that we look for in all our schools," she said. "It's a shame to see him go, but we know that he will continue to do great things for students in other states."